Pavana opens with a high pickup that should lead naturally into the first phrase. Its slides and slurred grace notes are easier to shape when you know which notes carry the line. Begin with those main notes and let the ornaments grow out of an already clear rhythm.
The small barres need preparation rather than a permanent grip. Test each required string, then practise moving into the shape from the preceding note. Open strings can give the hand time to travel, but listen carefully: using that opportunity should not interrupt a different voice that still needs to ring.
The second section introduces stretches and wider movements. Isolate a difficult bar, reduce the tempo and find which notes really have to remain held. Avoid adding speed while the hand is still searching for its destination. In the running passages, keep i and m alternating and check that a string crossing does not create an unwanted accent.
Pavana’s endings and return signs are part of its learning plan. Practise the first ending, the second ending and the final return as separate routes. Once you can follow them calmly, connect larger sections while keeping the melody’s long notes present above the moving accompaniment.
A high pickup opens two singing sections. Work on slurs, small barres and shifts; the second section also involves stretches. The app uses 60 bpm as a practice reference.
Skills to prepare
- Slides
- Slurs and held notes
- Small barres
- Position shifts
- Sustained voices
Before learning the piece
- App checkpoint: play bar 2’s grace notes five times without a second right-hand attack. Practise this skill (French).
- App checkpoint: sound the required strings in positions 2, 4 and 7 three times each. Practise this skill (French).
- App checkpoint: alternate i and m at two even notes per click for 20 seconds. Practise this skill (French).
These checkpoints belong to our learning path. They do not set a deadline for your progress.
Tablature and fingerings
The six lines represent the strings, with high E at the top. Numbers show frets; 0 means an open string. The letters p, i, m and a indicate right-hand fingers.
Read the complete static tab · Download the alphaTex file
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Your phrase-by-phrase plan
Work on a short passage. Aim for five clean attempts in a row, then connect two phrases. Bar numbers follow our transcription, including a separately numbered pickup where applicable.
Phrase 1 · bars 1–2
Bar 1 is a two-beat pickup: slide 7–12 on string 1. In bar 2, play the main notes first, then add the slurred grace notes.
Phrase 2 · bars 3–4
Practise bar 3’s two slurred pairs separately. In bar 4, sustain the melody over the ascending lower notes. Open string 2 avoids a large stretch.
Phrase 3 · bars 5–6
In bar 5, prepare the barre at 7 and string 6 at fret 7. Release that shape for the upper ascent. In bar 6, return to bar 2’s motif.
Phrase 4 · bars 7–8
Use open string 1 in bar 7. In bar 8, prepare the change from the small barre at 4 to the one at 2. Check each chord’s notes separately.
Phrase 5 · bar 9
Isolate this first ending. First time, play bar 9 and return to 2. Second time, skip 9 and play 10.
Phrase 6 · bar 10
Bar 10. Isolate the second ending. After the first repeat, continue to bar 11. After the final return to the sign, stop here.
Phrase 7 · bars 11–12
Bar 11 requires a stretch to sustain the chord during the descent: practise it slowly on its own. In bar 12, slide 7–14 on string 2.
Phrase 8 · bars 13–14
In bar 13, leave fret 12 on string 2 and find the chord at 2. Alternate i and m through bar 14’s ascent, keeping two notes per click.
Phrase 9 · bars 15–16
Locate bar 15’s two large shifts towards the upper notes. In bar 16, descend through four pairs without rushing the position changes.
Phrase 10 · bars 17–18
Do not repluck the two tied inner notes in bar 17: only the bass moves. In bar 18, finish the first ending and return to 11.
Phrase 11 · bars 19–20
Bars 19–20. Second time, skip 18 and play 19. Bar 20 has no accompanying chords. Secure its eight main notes before adding the slurred grace notes.
Phrase 12 · bars 21–22
Prepare the string 2 to string 1 crossing in bar 21. In bar 22, descend to string 5. Keep the string crossings as even as the other notes.
Phrase 13 · bar 23
Bar 23. Final bar: play the bass, then three notes on open string 2. The upper ascent returns to the sign at bar 2. Finish after bar 10.
Watch and listen
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Performance · Dave Belcher
Listen for both sections and the final return, following the long melody notes and slides. Instrumental performance.
English commentary. Link and metadata checked for our selection.
Lesson · Bolton Guitar Studio
Follow the first part of the lesson bar by bar. Compare its positions with the app’s fingerings. The lesson is in English.
English commentary. Link and metadata checked for our selection.
Sources and transcription choices
- Tárrega — Pavana, Biblioteca Fortea 1930, D-450-F; music on PDF p. 3
- Classical Guitar Corner — Dave Belcher’s performance of Pavana
- Bolton Guitar Studio — detailed Pavana lesson, part one
The notes follow the credited sources. Fingerings, phrase divisions and practice tempos are editorial learning choices. How our transcriptions work.